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Miami Heat did not pursue Al Horford in free agency

Al Horford was a key addition for Boston, but was never truly in play for the Heat. (Getty Images)

It says a lot about what the Heat think of Hassan Whiteside that they basically chose him over Al Horford.

Horford, a four-time All-Star who just turned 30, was believed to be interested in coming to Miami, but the team never engaged him. Pat Riley said once the Heat had a deal with Whiteside, they eliminated Horford as an option. He agreed to a contract with the Celtics before the end of the weekend.

“It’s not out of a lack of respect for him, it’s that at 12:01 a.m. I came to an agreement with Hassan,” Riley said. “I don’t care if Dallas came in after us, we had Hassan. Once we got Hassan, I didn’t want to string along anybody else.

“We like Al, we love Joakim Noah. Everybody that was at the top – the (DeMar) DeRozans, the (Bradley) Beals, the (Nic) Batums, (Dwight) Howard, Horford – all those guys, their deals were done. Horford is going to really help Boston, I think. But we didn’t really push on that one.”

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About the Author

Anthony Chiang began his writing career in Gainesville at the University of Florida’s student-run newspaper. At The Independent Florida Alligator, he covered the school’s golf, volleyball, baseball, and football teams. The Miami native has also written for the Sun Sentinel and MLB.com, following the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tom is a Heat beat writer for the Palm Beach Post. He has covered sports in Florida since 1981.